ISKCONyouth.com

1) Devotee Name: Dhanya devi dasi

2) Date of Birth 5/7/87

5) Life summary. Please tell us a summary of your life story. How did you get to where you are today?
Well that's intensely personal!
Born in Massachusetts to a single working mother. I lived with my grandma halfway through Kindergarten while my ma became situated in Ga. Had a pony. Moved to Ga at age six and spent 6 very unpopular years in school there. Moved with my mother to cali to live out here with a man who moved out a year or two later. Went to school out here, did rather well socially and academically. Joined the Hare Krsna movement with my ma when I was in HS, got serious quicker than her. Met His holiness Hridayanda Goswami in San Louis Obisbo. Graduated from and independent study HS and moved on to community college. My ma got married and had a baby a couple of years ago, but with an 18 year gap I think I still display an "only child" personality ;). Took a year school off for asram living, now back in the game looking at UC schools.

6) Your hopes and dreams for your future:
Gosh! Well I hope to get my bachelors and probably go for a masters and see what I can do with that. I'm an archaeology major so it's been suggested I focus on Indian archaeology, I'll have to try for that. So in my future now I see a looming giant that is years of school. I feel so strongly compelled to make a significant contribution to our movement, but deep down think it would be nice to be settled and mediocre. Needless to say I am pursuing the contribution path, though I have next to no idea about how that will manifest.

7) Your interests, talents, skills and abilities:
Talents and abilities. Retail proficient. Kitchen proficiency registering at level 24. Good bowmanship. Trained 1st aid [at one time] professional. Good enough with kids - work experience. Be there ever a need of an undifferentiated rectangle I can knit. I like to sew. People told me I was good at dressing the Deities. I read very fast, and write well. I have good comprehension academically and have a big vocabulary (making my main skill...standardized testing? ;) My friends say I'm hardworking, and I sure like to keep busy.

Interests. Krsna! Ohh I looved being in the pujari. Not serving thusly now but in ATL I was in heaven, in a completely literal way. I like archaeology, ancient culture anthropology in general is fascinating. I like swimming and archery. I like holidays, of nearly every variety. I'm always looking forewarn to something. I like to celebrate and love festivals. I am trying to suffocate my interest in sci-fi fantasy with real life tales like Ramayana and Mahabarata and will not admit to knowing what the letters rpg stand for.

8) How did you find out about this bus tour?
Oh I found out about it years ago, even fancied going for a moment. Looked it (summer tour website) over and was immediately struck with how awesome and fun it would be to go see all the temples and festivals. But I was like a really new devotee and people said the bus tour kids were kinda wild, and my gurukuli friends said the girls would be mean to me (not true I met them and Ga and they were totally friendly and not stuck up). So anyways I was sitting around feeling frustrated, like "Gah work and school are killing me, I need inspiration and I want to get away" And I was brainstorming possible temple visits for this winter vaca and I remembered about this winter tour and googled it and found it on myspace.

9) Why would you like to come on this bus tour?
I definitely need a good recharge, devotional and in general. School and work have been brutalizing me and it will be so nice to be fully engaged in service and have some recreation for a couple of weeks. I'd also like to meet more young vaisnavas. And there is the travel aspect. As far as ISKCON travel goes I've hit up all of california, New Vrdaban and New Panihati. As far as world travel I've got 5 hours in tijuana for rath, the entirety of the east coast, california, 3 days in Nevada and 3 in west virgina. So I'm really looking forward to seeing more of the world and seeing more temples.
What are your expectations for this tour?

Well I really expect to have a good time. I also really expect to make good friends, loosen up and gain more confidence. That happens whenever I do anything so that's why I expect the same results of this (I'm working away from being uptight and shy). I expect to see amazing things, namely Mexico, water features and TEOTIHUACAN! I've really been looking for something to inspire me to chant better rounds and deepen my connection with the holy name. Hopefully this will do that. Yeah no pressure ya'll but I fully expect this tour to be unlike anything I have every done (not to hard given my history of not doing much ;)

10) You’ve read the description about the tour. You’ve noticed that, among fun in beautiful surroundings -- beaches, mountains, volcanoes, pyramids, jungles -- the tour focuses on things like following the four regulative principles* for the duration of the tour, and we’ll have lots of kirtans, bhajans, a japa retreat in Guatemala, and spiritual discussions. How do you feel about this spiritual focus of our tour? Honestly. Please speak from your heart.
I feel good, otherwise I would feel guilty about going on some fun vacation just for vacations sake. It will be a really nice experience to have a prolonged adventure centered on service to and awareness of the Lord.

11) What role does Krishna play in your life?
I wish it were bigger. I wake up my deities, worship them, sew for them. I try to only hang out with Vaisnavas (there isn't a booming scene in Simi Valley as of yet). I chant all my rounds and gayatri, and I've mastered various forms of abstinence. Still It's like Arjuna said to Krsna on controlling the mind "it would be as easy to control the wind' (paraphrase). So while on all the mechanical levels Krsna consciousness makes up the fabric of my life I still have to ask myself hard questions - "am I actually trying to remember the Lord today? Am I trying to entice everyone I meet to chant the holy names? What would my guru and Prabhupada have me do?" and such. Naturally there is always, always room for improvement.

12) How do you see yourself contributing to help spread the jewel of Krishna consciousness to others in your lifetime?
As aforementioned I cannot see clearly into my future life of service. Maybe I’ll play for team devolution, maybe I’ll get married and open up a preaching center, maybe I’ll get really, really educated and write books. Right now I feel as if I am in a preaching lull, I am just trying to get by in the slaughterhouse of modern education and in the workforce without getting swept away.

What would you like to do to spread Lord Krishna’s glories?
I really want to get back into Sankirtana. There is no higher service and there is no better feeling so like, I want to start up again. I think I’m just afraid of going out alone, and of course afraid of failure (even though philosophically I see the fallacy in that – there is no failure in Sankirtana). Prabhupada wanted us all to distribute books and since I was blessed enough to gain some proficiency I think it’s a waste to have stopped altogether.

13) How do you feel about the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)?
Great! Go team! I’m really still working on becoming conscious of ISKCON on a macro scale rather than just locally and there are a lot of things I cannot wait to see done in our continued service to Srila Prabhupada.

14) How does your local ISKCON temple and devotee community contribute to the quality of your life? (If it disappeared tomorrow, how would your life be different?)
Oh no! New Dwarka disappear!? Simi Valley Nama hatta’s extinguished?! That’s all I have! Devotee association keeps me sane and on the right path so it is the quality in my life. Else wise I would be stranded in an ocean of misery! I would move if suddenly there were no devotees near me, I really would.

15) What would you like to see ISKCON and your local temple community do more of for you?
Lol, I wanna see ladies stand at the side of our temple.
But for me…well I want everyone in L.A. to be more personal, which would affect everyone and help make devotees. For me… Well I have to have a sit down chat with Svavasa Prabhu soon and hopefully he’ll let me dress there. I’d love to see the temple give me that opportunity to express my love for the Lord. Lol, If they asked me to give class I’d be all, “What, me? No way.” But would likely relish the chance to apply scholarship to Prabhupada’s books.

16) What would you like to do (more of) for your local ISKCON temple and devotee community?
Book distribution. And for my local community I want to preach more and bring more new people to our nama hattas.

17) What are three things you like about yourself?
1. hardworking
2. fairly intelligent
3. strong moral compass, even if I really, really don’t want to I do the right thing

18) What are three things you would like to improve about yourself?
1. self esteem
2. Krsna consciousness, increased
3. social skills, I want to be one of those people that everyone feels comfortable with and I want to be able to empower everyone I meet

19) Coming on this bus tour would mean a lot to me because
See questions all of the above? No, jk. It is something I never thought I could or would do. It’s funny what Krsna does for me, nearly everything I now do I once thought I’d never be able to. It would mean a lot to me because I would really feel like a part of the youth in our movement. Just the opportunity means a lot to me because it’s exactly the kind of this I was looking for so I can see how wonderfully the lord is reciprocating with me by fulfilling all my needs and desires.

20) Please give three references who can vouch for your character. These can be respected members of the devotee community, such as senior devotees, and / or members of the community at large, such as teachers, professors, employers. Please give their names and email addresses and phone numbers, and tell us what relationship you have with them.
Vedasara prabhu and or Mother Govardhana Lila (my most recent temple authorities)
Atamanada Prabhu (friend of the family, introduced me to KC)
H.H. Hrdayananda Goswami (my spiritual master)
Adrienne B. (my ma)